When I was growing up in the '60s, most of my generation took it for granted that Israel had a right to exist. Today's youngsters, however, are bombarded by BDS propaganda and an unfriendly media. Many students, even those who receive a solid Jewish education in a Jewish day school or afternoon school, are confused. Is it possible that the Jews don't have a right to their own country?
The JconnecT online Hebrew School program addressed this issue head-on
in its pre-Pesach session this year. The class is comprised of pre-teen and
teenaged students from across North America who learn about Judaism and Israel
online from their own homes. During the last session before Passover break the
students discussed what it means to be free, what it means to lack freedom, and
how that relates to the rights of the Jewish people to establish and run their
Jewish State.
To begin the class the students were asked to comment on what it means
to be free and what it means to NOT be free. The instructor guided the
discussion as the youngsters reviewed Jewish history via audio and visual
sources relating to the historical Jewish experience.
One of the advantages involved in presenting activities online is that
every student can participate at all times. Interactions between the students
are encouraged to enable the students to work on various projects and materials
collaboratively and engage freely without disturbing the progression of the
lesson. In this class the students divided into groups to complete a PPT that
examined some of the reasons that a Jewish State was – and is – vital to the
Jewish people.
Students worked in pairs as they examined different subjects including
anti-semitism, the Jews' historical reliance on governments and powers for
protection, and Jewish religious identity as they relate to the need for a
Jewish nation. Following the independent work, the students reconvened as a
group to present their findings. Student comments included a review of the need
for Jewish self-defense in the wake of the unwillingness of world powers to
protect the Jews under attack, the need for a safe and supportive environment
where Jews can practice their religion, and the importance of the Zionist
philosophy that gives Jews the right to fulfill the commandment of living in
their own land.
The students then viewed a historical film clip of the 1947 UN vote that authorized the
establishment of the State of Israel. The students were moved by the film and
expressed their amazement that so many countries stood by the Jewish nation in
its hour of need.
As the students connected the theme of freedom to Jewish nationhood and
the rights of the Jewish people to their own country the instructor presented
four quotes from Israel's Declaration of Independence, all of which relate to
the rights of the Jewish people to pursue freedom. Each student was asked to
select one of the quotes and discuss how the quote impacts on them
personally. It was clear that the
students had been moved by their class. One student commented that "the
hardships that the Jews had to go through to achieve a nation were
unimaginable. They never ceased to pray….after being away for so long they
still wanted to be Jewish, still wanted their own country. The existence of
Israel can never be taken for granted."
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